


The Physics of Snowball Fights

by remreader



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff and Humor, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark at MIT, Kissing in the Snow, M/M, MIT Era, Snow Day, Snowball Fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29291121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remreader/pseuds/remreader
Summary: Tony and Rhodey engage in some snow day shenanigans. For science.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark
Comments: 9
Kudos: 31
Collections: Tony Stark Bingo Mark IV





	The Physics of Snowball Fights

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a fill for Tony Stark Bingo :)  
> Title: The Physics of Snowball Fights  
> Collaborator Name: newnewyorker93  
> Card Number: 4042  
> Square Filled: R5 - nerf/water gun war*  
> Main Pairing: Tony Stark/James Rhodes  
> Rating: Gen  
> Major Tags: Fluff and Humor, MIT era  
> Summary: Tony and Rhodey engage in some snow day shenanigans. For science.  
> Word Count: 985
> 
> *snow is a form of water, so _technically_...

In hindsight, it was surprising it took as long as it did for Tony and Rhodey’s snow day physics experiment to go completely off the rails. They’d rolled the Catapult Projectile Launcher (alternatively referred to as the CPL or ‘the corporal’; a pretty basic moniker, not up to Tony’s usual flair for naming things, but he found it endlessly amusing that the device they’d built together technically outranked Rhodey’s AFROTC ‘cadet’ rank) out onto the pristine, snow-covered MIT campus with the simple intention of conducting some field trials.

Basically they were going to catapult snowballs at inanimate objects. For _science_.

It started off well enough. They took turns picking out targets and firing the machine at unsuspecting tree branches, rocks, and statues. (And a snowman, though they did feel bad about that one and built it a replacement head right away.) But then Tony made a critical error - while off a few yards away from Rhodey examining the landing site of their latest snow-missile, he bent down to tie his shoe.

Rhodey paused in his task of adjusting and resetting the launcher to take in the view. He couldn’t help himself. Tony’s ass in those jeans? That was always a sight to see. Today it just happened to _also_ be a truly irresistible target for a well-aimed snowball. And after a morning’s worth of practice, Rhodey’s aim with the CPL was _impeccable_. Call it a physics lesson well-learned. Tony jumped about a foot in the air, then spun around, his mouth a perfect ‘o’ of surprise. Rhodey, meanwhile, did his best to keep a straight face and try to look innocent while kneeling next to the clearly just-fired catapult.

A brief but intense battle ensued. Tony and Rhodey hurled snowballs at each other as fast as they could pack them together, running and dodging and laughing and shouting until they were both panting, their rapid breaths coming out in visible puffs in the cold air. Rhodey decided to go for one last shot before gesturing for a time out, a snowball that caught Tony smack dab in the middle of his chest. Tony did a double-take as he registered the hit, looking down at the snowball mark left behind on his jacket and back up at Rhodey, then staggered and flopped backwards down onto the snow. A spontaneously choreographed death scene; Tony was nothing if not dramatic. 

Rhodey jogged over to see what was up when Tony didn’t pop back up right away and found him lying at the center of a picture-perfect snow angel with his head lolled over to the side, playing dead. “Huh. That’s a bit morbid, don’t you think?”

Tony opened one eye and frowned up at Rhodey. “You’re _supposed_ to ask if it hurt when I fell from heaven.” He kicked his leg out, trying unsuccessfully to snag Rhodey’s ankle with his foot.

“Sorry, Tones. Pretty sure that’s not how dead person angels work.” 

“Hmph,” Tony pouted. “Well fine then, if you’re not going to flirt properly.” He stuck his arm straight out, perpendicular to his body and the ground, and waved his hand at Rhodey. “Give me a hand up at least?” As soon as Rhodey’s hand closed around Tony’s Tony grinned and yanked sharply downwards. He was smaller, of course, but with gravity and the element of surprise on his side he easily overcame that imbalance and pulled Rhodey down on top of him. It was only Rhodey’s quick reflexes - throwing his hand out just in time - that kept his head from smashing right into Tony’s face as he landed with a muffled _oof_ , knocking the wind right out of both of them.

“What the hell, Tony?”

“ _Physics_.” Tony said, in a voice that had suddenly gone all soft. Then he bit his lip and wait...was this a moment? They weren’t in the most comfortable position - their still joined hands were at an awkward angle and digging into Rhodey’s ribs, and from how much the snow was already starting to seep in where Rhodey’s knee touched the ground the back of Tony’s jeans must’ve been soaked by now - but Tony was looking at him like _that_ with those stupid doe eyes that he could never quite manage to resist and yeah, it kind of definitely felt like a moment. So Rhodey seized it.

From the immediate and enthusiastic way Tony returned the kiss it was clear that Rhodey hadn’t misread the situation. Tony’s lips were warm as they pressed eagerly against Rhodey’s and for an infinite brief moment it was just the two of them, making out in a snowdrift in their own tiny quiet pocket of the world, and it was perfect.

Then out of the corner of his eye Rhodey saw Tony’s free arm reaching up and felt the icy shock of betrayal as a handful of snow was shoved down his collar. He pushed himself off of Tony with a startled yelp, landing half in fresh snow and half in the cleared ground of Tony’s angel wing. “Ugh, you _asshole_ ,” he groaned. He made a mostly futile attempt to brush the rapidly melting snow out of his shirt while Tony crowed with triumphant delight beside him. Unbelievable.

“I had to,” Tony insisted, quieting down and contorting his face into an appropriately - if perhaps insincerely - contrite expression. Rhodey flung a loose handful of snow at him for good measure. “Sorry, honeybear, but all’s fair in love and war…”

Rhodey scooted closer to Tony, closing the distance between them until their noses were practically touching again. “You are _so_ full of shit, you know that, right?”

Tony beamed. “Of course.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Rhodey. “So, wanna kiss and make up?”

Rhodey gave Tony an incredulous look, conveying without words the general sentiment of “ _Seriously?_ **_That’s_ ** _what you’re going with?_ ” but he let Tony’s snow-damp fingers pull him into another kiss all the same.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was my first time writing romantic ironhusbands! I had a lot of fun with it, and I hope you did too ❤ Thanks for reading!


End file.
